Puppy Journal

From Sheila Miller:

So the puppies were born late afternoon/early evening on Sunday. A very civilized time to be born. Let me go on record right now by saying that Picabo is one hell of a brood bitch. I can’t believe how much she has emotionally matured since her first litter almost two years ago. She was a great mom then but so serious. Age and experience have left her very skilled but easy going with the newborns.

It was an easy delivery and easy clean-up. We settled into bed by 11:00 p.m. If you haven’t been around neonate puppies, they mew like kittens. I laid in bed and listened to the sounds they made. They have sounds for “too cold", “too hungry", and “too squished” and one for “just practicing my mew”. They weren’t cold, they weren’t hungry, and they weren’t being squished. They nursed and slept. So then I laid in bed and listened to all the sounds this end of the house makes. There was the ticking of the clock, the rumble of the space heater and further from the bedroom I could hear the whole house ventilation fan and every once in awhile, the fridge. IOW, I didn’t sleep much. One of the things that kept me awake is my new Dura-Whelp whelping box. Since it is winter, I couldn’t buy my reliable $6.00 wading pool and had to buy the $280.00 plastic box. I’m happy enough with the Dura-Whelp though I’m still a bit in shock over the price. The box is held together by Velcro. Every time Picabo would stretch out, I would hear that distinctive tearing sound of Velcro separating. I was positive the whole thing would collapse in the night. It didn’t but the bedding kept shifting.

I am always “sick” for a day or two after a litter is born. This time I really was (still am) sick. Some respiratory virus that has overtaken our school has traveled the whole of my body and settled in my chest (and has turned me into a mouth-breather). I was hoping Monday would be a day of checking on dogs, puppies and sleeping. Monday was spent ironing out the wrinkles of the Dura-Whelp. My main concern was the bedding. The bedding is just a square of synthetic fleece with Velcro sewn in the corners to match the Velcro in the corners of the box. Picabo doesn’t dig much in her box but she does shift her body position. Every shift from her, shifted the bedding. Every shift of the bedding put the puppies at risk of getting caught underneath the bedding or on the cold, slippery surface of the plastic box. I had some Velcro in my sewing box and tried adding more to the edges but its adhesive wouldn’t permanently stick to the plastic. I wasn’t about to use a stronger

adhesive and let those babies inhale the fumes. I had to fix this problem because in just another day, Picabo and her puppies would be on their own all day long. What I came up with was carpet tape. I clean and dry the Dura-Whelp and then place additional squares of carpet tape around the fleeces bedding. It sticks fairly well to the plastic an OK to the fleece. Enough to last the day. When I change the bedding, I just pull off the tape and repeat the process.

Monday night was another short night because Picabo had her post-whelping diarrhea. I would like to know how the other breeders on this list feed their bitches during the first 36 hours after whelping. Mine all get yucky diarrhea as they work out all those consumed placentas from their bodies.

We headed over to Elk Tuesday afternoon for tail docking and dew claw removal. I used to be so conservative about this. I always waited until they were 3 or 4 days old and had definitely put on weight. No more. Picabo’s first litter was docked at 48 hours old and they immediately bounced back. This litter was a few hours shy of 48 hours and each one’s whimpering stopped before the next puppy was docked. It is the most disgusting ordeal to witness but I like the look of a docked tail and they really do recover quickly.

Wednesday I was back in school and Picabo was on her own. I came home to a stinky house as she had a poopy accident (but hit the papers!) in the bedroom. Picabo’s GI tract consumed a lot of my time with her first litter. I am going to stay on top of her digestion this time. I’ve added bran cereal to her diet to help hold her together as she adjusts to the physical stress she is under. It seems to be working so far.

Now it is Friday and these puppies and their mom are just great. OK, I said 2 boys and 1 girl were liver and 2 boys and 1 girl were black. But you really didn’t think they were all black and all liver coming from Cosmo and Picabo did you? LOL

Little Black Boy: White muzzle, white toes on front feet, white chest, and a thin white line between the eyes.

Bigger Black Boy: Dusting of white on nose. White cross on chest.

Liver Boy (AKA the Border Collie): White muzzle, four white feet, white chest, and white spot on the BACK of his neck.

Other Liver Boy: Dusting of white on nose, white chest, white toes on two front feet. This boy is a darker shade of liver than the other two liver puppies. He is also the only puppy in the litter NOT to show bright tan under the tail. Most believe that is a sign the puppy is a carrier for tan markings.

Black Girl (AKA the springer): White muzzle, full white blaze between the eyes, white chest, and four white feet.

Liver Girl: White chin, white chest, and white toes on the two front feet.

The good news is that everyone now has “dirty feet” meaning they are ticking up. I am confident that all of the facial and toe white will fill in. I know that the chest white will decrease in size to just a flash of white. But they sure are cute now. :-)

Debbie is going to stop by my house on Saturday. We will take pictures and I hope to have some up for you to view by Monday.

Sheila Miller

Wolftree Acres

Nevada, USA

Puppy Journal

You’ve read my scribblings about our two field spaniels (Mo’i and Lea). In fact, you’re probably really tired of them <smile>! Well, I’ve got bad news for you: things about about to get worse.

We’re going to have a new field spaniel puppy in a few weeks! That means completely out-of-control field spaniel blogging (with photos!) is just around the corner…

Meanwhile, Sheila Miller will pick up the slack. Sheila is the field spaniel breeder whose inspired matchings produced Mo’i, Lea, and a whole bunch of other beautiful brown dogs. This time, though, they’re not all brown — you see, field spaniels come in variations and mixes of browns, plus black and white.

Picabo just gave birth a few days ago to the litter from which our puppy will come — and that litter, as you can see below, has a variety of colors. A little later Sheila will have the puppies “temperment tested", so we can choose one with a better likelihood of being a good agility dog. I’m hoping that the winner of that contest will be at least partially black — I really like the black, black-and-liver, and black-and-white field spaniels that I’ve seen at shows…

Sheila is writing a “Puppy Journal” on her experiences with this litter, and here’s the first installment:

Sheila Miller’s Puppy Journal:

First, let me thank all of you who have sent private and public congratulations. Its not like me to not reply to an e-mail but I’ve been busy. :-) I appreciate your warm thoughts.

I also want to thank Picabo’s co-owners Debbie Miller and Sandy Burt-Jones for allowing me to lease Picabo. Like Scarlett O’Hara’s line, “I depend on the kindness of others”. LOL

Let’s go back to May 23, 2004 when Picabo whelped her first litter. Her puppies were huge, the time between water breaking and first puppy being born was long, and every puppy was delivered with screams from her. I told myself that I would not lease Picabo again (I’m a wimp when it comes to the pain of others). After the dust settled with that whelping, I told myself that IF I lease her again, then 2006 would be a good year to have puppies.

Picabo’s first litter was sired by Cosmo, son of Spicer and Juno. They are turning out very nicely and I figured I would breed her to a relative of Cosmo’s (half-brother, nephew or cousin). Well, the best laid plans… After the fourth stud dog choice wasn’t going to work out, I found myself with an in-season bitch and nowhere for her to go. So I brought Picabo and Cosmo to the vet for blood tests (brucellosis and thyroid) and made the appointment in Reno for eye checks.

I’ve never repeated a breeding before. I don’t have anything against it. It is just that since I’ve never bred a bitch more than twice in her life, I’ve always chosen different studs just for the genetic variety. The breedings went very well. I would crate all of my dogs for dinner, put Picabo out in the front yard and Cosmo out in the backyard. I would close all the doors to rooms where I didn’t want a breeding to take place and then let the two of them in. They would run around the house while I flipped channels on the TV. When they stopped running, I would go look for them and wait out the tie. What could be easier than that? :-)

Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago. I’m getting ready for the whelping by making sure I not only have everything the dam and puppies will need but also everything I will need such as food, paper products, beer, wine, etc. Once the puppies come, I will be a weekend-only shopper.

Wednesday, February 8th. Picabo and I run to Elko after school for her x-ray. Since I live so far from my vet (75 miles) and there aren’t any emergency vet clinics closer than 250 miles, I x-ray my bitches to get an idea of how many and how big to expect. Picabo is water buffalo big but the x-ray only shows 4 puppies. One puppy shows a complete spine, full ribs and head. I ask Dr. Rob if that couldn’t be two puppies overlapped. He said, “Where’s the second head"? OK, good point. So four for sure, maybe, just maybe a fifth. Rob thinks they look good-sized (i.e. big like the first litter). He then tells me that he is leaving the next day (Picabo’s first due date) for a four-day rock climbing trip near Las Vegas. He asked me if I wanted some oxytocin to go. Of course I do. I always have a shot on hand in case I need it. If I don’t need it, then I give it an hour or so after what I think is the last puppy as a clean out shot. He gave me four shots. OH MY GOD. Does he think they will be so big that I will need one per puppy??? Oh, this will be a long weekend by myself.

Even though Thursday is her first due date, I absolutely don’t expect puppies until the weekend at the earliest. Picabo’s first litter taught me that she breeds well before she ovulates. Thursday and Friday go by as normal days for little black water buffaloes.

Saturday is pretty normal too. The only thing I noticed about Picabo is that she crated herself after dinner (not her crate, but Cosmo’s crate). No nesting, just sleeping. She didn’t show any other signs of labor. Her appetite and attitude were both good. She was crated in my bedroom that night and I awoke at 12:00 a.m. to sounds of her digging in her crate. I listened as she flipped her crate pad around and settled back down. I fell asleep. I awoke at 1:00 a.m. to the same sounds. She settled down and I fell asleep. I had a dream…

I dreamt that Picabo easily whelped her puppies. Puppy #1 was a bitch! Unfortunately she was a rather large Bernese Mountain Dog. :-( Puppy #2 was a dog. A big, fat, deadgrass MALE Chesapeake Bay Retriever. A handsome boy but I need another male CBR like I need… Puppy #3 was a bitch! A small bitch! A black bitch! A black bitch with two white stripes down her back??? Puppy #3 was a skunk! LOL Not a puppy marked like a skunk but an actual skunk. It doesn’t take a dream analysts to know that I was worried about the size, sex, and color of these puppies. I awoke again at 2:00 a.m. to sounds of Picabo digging in her crate. Enough was enough. I put all of my dogs outside for a potty break and went into the spare room/office/whelping room and made up the bed in there. By 2:30 a.m., Picabo and I were in bed. She scratched around the whelping box a couple of times then jumped in bed with me. We slept the rest of the night away…

Sunday morning dawned and Picabo’s appetite and attitude were good although once again she crated herself. She had to be in the early stages of labor. She asked to go out with the rest of the dogs around noon. I watched her dig a nest under a bush. By the time I walked to the back door, Picabo was at the front door asking to come in. She came in and went back to bed. Later that afternoon came out all peppy and joined us on a walk (well, more like a waddle). When we came back to the house, I told the dogs we would feed the birds and put out the trash. Picabo said, “groan”. I said, “Picabo was that you"? Again she said, “groan”. The two of went in the house. I admit all I could think about was that I was hungry and wasn’t going to get to eat for awhile. :-) Her water broke and she delivered the first puppy ten minutes later. This was an easy, stress free delivery. Boom, boom, boom. 3 puppies followed and Picabo took it all in stride. I on the other hand, became more depressed with each birth. We were expecting four puppies and the first four were all boys. I crossed my fingers that there would be a fifth but I had to wait about an hour to find out. Boom, boom, two more puppies this time girls!

Here they are in birth order:

black male - 9 ounces

liver male - 13 ounces

liver male - 12 ounces

black male - 10 ounces

black female - 15 ounces

liver female - 14 ounces

These sizes are all normal for FS and very good for little Picabo. They are now four days old and the only puppy who hasn’t yet crossed the one pound threshold is the first black male and he is only an ounce away.

To be continued…

Sheila Miller

Wolftree Acres

Nevada, USA

Promoting Ignorance

Sometimes I have to read something several times to be sure the author was serious. This was one of those, and sadly, the author was serious. From the Washington Post (why do I even go there?):

What Is the Value of Algebra?

I am haunted by Gabriela Ocampo.

Last year, she dropped out of the 12th grade at Birmingham High School in Los Angeles after failing algebra six times in six semesters, trying it a seventh time and finally just despairing over ever getting it. So, according to the Los Angeles Times, she “gathered her textbooks, dropped them at the campus book room and, without telling a soul, vanished from Birmingham High School."

Gabriela, this is Richard: There’s life after algebra.

In truth, I don’t know what to tell Gabriela. The L.A. school district now requires all students to pass a year of algebra and a year of geometry in order to graduate. This is something new for Los Angeles (although 17 states require it) and it is the sort of vaunted education reform that is supposed to close the science and math gap and make the U.S. more competitive. All it seems to do, though, is ruin the lives of countless kids. In L.A., more kids drop out of school on account of algebra than any other subject. I can hardly blame them.

This piece was written by Richard Cohen, a well-known liberal columnist.

It turns out, as you read further, that what’s got Mr. Cohen upset is the idea of required subjects (such as algebra) for high school graduation. He objects to the idea of having to pass a test to graduate, as well. The column is specific to Los Angeles, which has such requirements for the first time this year.

I can understand (though I don’t agree with) other arguments I’ve heard against stringent graduation requirements. But Mr. Cohen is definitely thinking out-of-the-box here — his argument is that things like algebra shouldn’t be requirements because they’re not needed!

Oh, my. I posit that Mr. Cohen just doesn’t grasp what his world would be like without algebra. Virtually all the things he takes for granted — technology, cars, medicine, as obvious examples — would all be back in the Stone Age without algebra (amongst other things). As I hope most people understand better than Mr. Cohen apparently does, mathematics underlie an awful lot of things that separate us from the gerbils.

Mr. Cohen goes on to relate how algebra has never once been a requirement for him, once he left school. Well, that may well be, Mr. Cohen — it’s certainly possible to choose a career where no mathematics is required, just as it’s possible to choose a career where no ability to write prose is required. But neither of those statements says a darned thing about the importance of either area of study.

But here’s Mr. Cohen at his most condescending:

Look, Gabriela, I am not anti-algebra. It has its uses, I suppose, and I think it should be available for people who want to take it. Maybe students should even be compelled to take it, but it should not be a requirement for graduation. There are those of you, and Gabriela you are one, who know what it is like to stare at an algebra problem until you have eyeballed a hole in the page and not understand a thing you’re seeing . There are those of us who know the sweat, the panic, the trembling, cold fear that comes from the teacher casting an eye in your direction and calling you to the blackboard. It is like being summoned to your own execution.

"I suppose…” How arrogantly certain he is! And so certain about such a really dumb piece of advice, all projected from his own inability or lack of initiative to learn mathematics. And how typically liberal the notion that the kid’s feelings matter more than actually learning something. I’ve been battling that meme for a long time, which makes it all the more disheartening to see something like this from a prominent columnist…

And if you extrapolate this mindset (which I will remind you is very much like the National Education Association’s mindset), you can confidently predict America as a second-tier country in science and technology, with our leadership lost to those with a more … serious … educational system.

Different Cartoons

For your viewing pleasure, and as a counter to all the negative press on political cartoons — here’s a collection nobody should object to. And if they do, well … I guess that’s just too flippin' bad!

As usual, click on the little pictures for a larger view…

Laws of the Universe

I can personally confirm most of these laws:

LAWS OF THE NATURAL UNIVERSE

Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you’ll have to pee.

Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of the Telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now (works every time!).

Bath Theorem: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with.

Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won’t work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Theatre Rule: At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy’s Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Dirty Rugs/Carpets: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich of landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don’t know what you are talking about.

Brown’s Law: If the shoe fits, it’s really ugly.

Oliver’s Law: A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson’s Law: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

Terror Alerts Raised

Maybe our color-coded terror alert levels aren’t so bad after all…

The British are feeling the pinch in relation to recent bombings and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.” Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.” Londoners have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to a “Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was during the great fire of 1666.

Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide.” The only two higher levels in France are “Surrender” and “Collaborate.” The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

It’s not only the English and French that are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides."

The Germans also increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbour” and “Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

Not to be left out of the fun, some of the newer European countries have also raised their alert levels. For example, little Estonia is currently at the “Pretend You Can’t See Them” level, increased from the “Speak In Estonian to Confuse Them” level. They have two higher levels: “Hide In The Forest” and “Beg Putin To Be Readmitted To Russia”.

On the other side, the terrorists have only two levels: “Yell, Bomb, and Shoot” and “Flee or Die When the Americans Arrive”.

Seems like Al Qaeda spends a lot of time at heightened alert these day…

Hansen Harangues -- Again

NASA’s Jim Hansen is flogging his theories again, this time with an article in the Independent (what’s the matter Jim — can’t get a respectable scientific journal to print your rants? The Independent? That’s really bottom-scraping…). The lead:

Greenland ice cap breaking up at twice the rate it was five years ago, says scientist Bush tried to gag

A satellite study of the Greenland ice cap shows that it is melting far faster than scientists had feared - twice as much ice is going into the sea as it was five years ago. The implications for rising sea levels - and climate change - could be dramatic.

Yet, a few weeks ago, when I - a Nasa climate scientist - tried to talk to the media about these issues following a lecture I had given calling for prompt reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases, the Nasa public affairs team - staffed by political appointees from the Bush administration - tried to stop me doing so. I was not happy with that, and I ignored the restrictions. The first line of Nasa’s mission is to understand and protect the planet.

Let me translate that for you: NASA told him to shut up about the connection between greenhouse gas emission and global warming for two reasons: (1) that connection has not been proven, and there is no consensus in the scientific community on the question, and (2) the entire notion global warming itself has not been proven. While it is certainly true that in the past century the earth’s average temperature has increased, it’s done the same thing many times in the past (long before humans were around). We just don’t know yet whether our recent warming is another transient effect, as in the past, or if it really is something mankind is doing. The most recent findings I’ve read cast a lot of doubt on the “we’re killing ourselves” theory — especially the unexpected finding that forests are emitting the majority of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Oops. And thank you, NASA, for attempting to muzzle this dangerous nutcase.

But Jim Hansen is a “true believer”. He’s got religion, and he’s had it for a long time. Like Jimmy Swaggart’s fundamentalist Christian schtick, Jimmy Hansen’s “global warming religion” and schtick has brought him fame and fortune. For a flavor of his publications, check out this list. And just in case you think I might be the only one questioning Jim Hansen’s objectivity on the issue, look here, here, and here.

I don’t usually get all fired up over a dispute in science — they’re generally more interesting than they are alarming. But this man wants to change our lives in ways that I certainly am not interested in. He wants us to drastically change our lifestyles (especially in reducing our commuting and travel, to reduce oil consumption) and to increases our taxes (to pay for greenhouse gas reduction). If — and that’s a very, very big if — I believed that the case had actually been made for global warming’s existence, for mankind’s activities causing global warming, and for the proposed remediation efforts “fixing” global warming, then I would actively support this program. But not one of those three requirements has been met — and to undertake civilization-changing efforts like the ones Jim Hansen promotes on the basis of speculation is sheer folly. Ol' Jim-boy though, would make out just fine in such a scenario — he’d be the de facto “religious” and intellectual leader. Kind of like that Jim Jones fellow a few years ago, except Jim Hansen’s “flock” would be the whole world, and he’d likely to be able to fool them for all his natural years. Scary prospect…

Hamas and Iran

In this morning’s Jerusalem Post is this story and its lead:

Mofaz: Hamas consulting with Iran how to lead PA

Hamas has asked for guidance, instructions and financial assistance from Iran as it prepares to take over the Palestinian Authority, [Israeli] Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Friday.

Now we really shouldn’t be surprised by this — Iran has a long history of assisting Hamas. But I am dismayed by it nonetheless. It looks like the first moves toward making Palestine a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iran. An Iranian colony, so to speak. Or even an Iranian “state”.

Iran, the country who has repeatedly vowed to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Yup, that ought to help the peace process along all right…

If you’re not familiar with the Hamas/Iran connection, I’ve collected some reading material for you. I particularly recommend this paper [web] [pdf] by Matthew Levitt (a former FBI counterterrorism intelligence analyst). A sample:

According to press reports, moderate Palestinian parents find it increasingly difficult to shelter their children from Hamas recruiters seeking to breed future suicide bombers. One mother recounted how her son’s behavior changed when he started going to the mosque regularly:

At first I thought it was normal when my son Muhammad, who is eighteen, started going to the mosque frequently. But when I found out he was watching films about suicide attacks, I was worried … My son was going to the mosque late at night and early in the morning, adding to our fears … His behavior changed. He became introverted, which made his father and me search his room and spy on his comings and goings … We even locked the door to stop him going out … We later found out that those in charge of the mosque are members of Hamas, which teaches children about jihad and shows them documentaries about suicide bombings.

The father of fifteen-year-old Hamas recruit Musa Ziadah told a similar tale. Originally pleased with his son’s growing faith, the father did not realize Hamas had begun radicalizing his son when the boy was just ten years old and sweeping the mosque floors. Musa would later tell reporters that Hamas “taught me about the heroes of Islam who were killed as saints and how they are now in heaven beside God … I also learned that the Jews have no right to exist on this land, which belongs to Muslims.”

This paper is very well researched and cites numerous other papers publications (many with links). In addition, these two web sites (here and here) have lots of additional and useful background on Hamas and their relationship with Iran.

I worry that with Hamas now in power, and with the new-found aggressiveness that Iran is displaying, we’re going to see even more outrageous terrorist actions by Hamas against Israel — better funded, and using more sophisticated armaments openly imported from Iran. The only effective counter (at least, at the moment) is the Israeli military. Certainly none of the Middle East “peace efforts” have brought any relief from the terrorists; in fact, the continuous concessions wrung from the Israelis looks to Hamas (and Iran) like their enemy is weakening and is now more vulnerable than ever. In other words, the peace initiatives were actually counter-productive (just like the appeasement of Hitler before WWII) — not that anybody will learn from that, I’m sure.

Unsettling news for this otherwise fine Friday morning…

Casino Update

Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (based in Minnesota, of all places!) is the investor and speculator funding the Jamul Indian tribe’s attempts to build a casino just outside the town of Jamul. Lakes Entertainment is a public company, trading under the symbol WPTE. They were delisted from NASDAQ after getting into some trouble with the SEC; they claim to have resolved these issues and are now in the process of being re-listed.

My readers will know that this casino is something I am vehemently opposed to, so we try to follow the news on this issue. The process of getting approval for such a casino is far from transparent — there’s an awful lot about it that’s not only invisible, but unknown. An observer like me gets the impression that the process isn’t even well-defined. This is the perfect setup for corruption, for dirty money to drive the outcome.

Well, Lakes Entertainment just announced their fiscal 2005 results, and they’ve issued a press release about it (the usual practice for a public company). Buried in there is this little gem (emphasis added):

The net unrealized gain on notes receivable was $5.2 million and $3.1 million for 2005 and 2004, respectively, related to the adjustment to fair value of the Company’s notes receivable from Indian tribes. During 2005 the net unrealized gain of $5.2 million included unrealized gains of approximately $11.4 million, which were partially offset by unrealized losses of approximately $6.2 million primarily related to the termination of the agreement with the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas. The unrealized gains of approximately $11.4 million related primarily to increased probability of opening related to the casino development projects with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians in New Buffalo, Michigan and with the Jamul Indian Village near San Diego, California.

Read at face value, this says that the company believes its chances of getting the Jamul Casino built have increased so much that they should book some increased value (the “unrealized gains") on their balance sheet. However, as I read this company’s financial report (and look at their stock price), it’s easy to see that they must be desperate for anything resembling good news — so I have to be a bit skeptical of their statement. And its one of those judgment things; there’s no objective criteria that I’m aware of that would let us accurately set a fair value on this.

So I guess I’m not quite sure what to read into this. I am sure that I hate seeing anything that says the casino is more likely to be built!

And I really, really like the trend on the WPTE stock price — let’s hope that continues, right into the ground…